now he's raising his twin boys and daughter on $7.25 an hour. >> i can't even raise my kids or my family on that type of money. i have to go through months of deciding whether to pay bills or get food. >> reporter: current minimum wage is $7.25. part of rebuild america act, which calls for infrastucture to create new jobs. partially paid for by increasing taxes on the wealthiest americans. >> we're struggling to get to the middle. and i feel like they should be thinking, oh, how can we help? >> reporter: there's no question, middle class families are falling behind. their salaries have increased 35% in the last foury decade -- four decades, while the wealthiest has seen a 278% increase. >> it is absolutely destroying the very health of our democracy. >> cindy walsh is an activist. >> we will continue to see if if this if we do not put our foot down to the idea of free market and globalization being the answer to domestic hiring. >> reporter: president obama and democrats support raising the minimum wage, while mitt romney and congressional republicans do not. they claim it could slow job